If you’re in the market for a compact digital camera take a close look at the Casio EX-Z77. For many people Casio isn’t the first name they think of when it comes to digital cameras. Many people don’t realize that many cameras in this price range share the same sensor made by Sony. For the most part differences in picture quality are negligible.

What sets the Casio apart from other cameras in this price range is the amazing 2.6 inch LCD screen. Casio makes some of the best screens in the business. The screen is easy to see even in bright outdoor sunlight.

Another feature that sets this camera aaprt for it’s competitors is the quality of the movies it takes. The movies are encoded in the H.264 format as opposed to motion Jpeg that is found on other cameras. What this means is that the Casio can create much better quality movies in a smaller files size. The built in microphone does pick up wind noise outdoors.

Everyone that sees this camera loves it. It is small and light weight. It can easily fit into pockets on jeans and if you place it in a shirt pocket you barely know it is there. It’s as easy to carry as a small clamshell style cell phone.

This is a perfect camera for teenagers. It comes in cool colors, is rugged and is priced well below $200 at many online retailers.

Awesome.

I’ll admit I was a bit skeptical when Apple unveiled the new Ipod Nano. I thought they lost the people that like to use the Nano for exercising.

A friend just bought the new Nano and I have to admit it’s cool as hell. It seems to be as thin and lightweight as the older Nano, though I didn’t have one to compare directly. I placed it in my front pocket and I really couldn’t feel it was there. It would make a nice little unit for exercise.

The games that come with it are pretty fun too.

I’m no Ipod fanboy, but I have to give apple credit for this slick mp3 player.

Casio is rolling out two new cameras that are YouTube ready. The Exilim EX-S880 and EX-Z77. From the specs it seems like these cameras are very similar to existing models in the Exilim line. Specifically the Exilim EX-Z75.

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You then slip the camera into a dock, which comes with the device and plugs into your PC. This automatically starts a video management application on the computer and grabs the movie files. The application can be set up with a YouTube account, default title name, and other settings, so getting the video online involves simply clicking the upload button. Alternatively, you can enter information specific to the clips, then upload them.

Obviously this is all an exercise in marketing and branding. I fail to see how this is any easier than plugging your memory card into your PC an uploading your video to Youtube the normal way.

I’ll be posting a bit more about the Casio Exilim line. They are an excellent line of digital cameras.

A few weeks ago I saw a story about layoffs for Sony’s USA Playstaion Division. Now there is news that the chief architect of Sony’s PlayStation has stepped down.

I find it a little ironic that Sony is on the receiving end of being overtaken in the console game market. In my neck of the woods the Xbox 360 seems to be teh new hawt. I rarely hear of anyone saving up for a PS3.

Sales figures for the Nintendo Wii has been a big surprise to me. It just proves that “it’s the gameplay stupid”.

Buy.com has the SanDisk Sansa C150 2GB MP3 Player for $49. This unit is ideal for the Gym because it it so small, lightweight and has an FM tuner. It’s also great as a “beater” for those times where you may not want to bring your expensive Ipod. You don’t even need any software to get songs onthis player, just drag and drop files.

I didn’t realize the ¢ wasn’t on a normal keyboard. To type the ¢ cents symbol hold down the ALT key and then type in 155 on the number pads. You may have to toggle Num Lock. For some reason it won’t work with the numbers above the letters on my keyboard.

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I was in Sam’s Club and came across the Archos 404 Camcorder. However the device is much more than a camcorder. It has a 30GB hard drive that allows you to store video, photos and music. The device has a 3.5″ color screen and It also functions as a 1.3 megapixel camera for capturing still photos.

One very cool feature of this unit is an optional Archos DVR Docking Station. The docking station allows you to record just about any video source onto the Archos. there are plenntyo of output options which allows you to play videos on the Archos on your TV.

One possible use for this is to download videos from the web and then view them on your TV. If yout TV had vidoe outpust you can record television shows to view later on the Archos.

Overall I thought it was a pretty cool device for not a lot of money.

Sony has lowered the list price of the BDP-S300 Bluray player to a $499 list price. I’m not sure this will sway the war on bluray versus HD DVD. I think average consumers are still going to wait this out. In their eyes blu-ray and HD disks look like a regular DVD, so why should a blu-ray or HD player be so expensive when I can buy a DVD player for less than $100 ?

Personally I may be willing to shell out $200 for a HD player. In the end I wouldn’t be surprised if players capable of playing both formats and regular DVDs become available.

I noticed the new commercials which says the iphone will be available June 29. I personally thing the price point is a little hight for the masses to embrace.

I am not one of those that automatically bash anything Apple or Mac. But I have to say I am sick of Steve Jobs pictures. He always looks very pompous in a “I’m WAY too cool for you” way.

I received an email from BUY.com with their weekly specials. They have a Western Digital 500GB External Hard Drive for $138.95. I have a smaller version of this drive and it is excellent. I don’t think I will ever buy an internal slave drive again. External drives like this are great for performing backups ans storing large video files. Link.